If you were to have your picture taken by the very first camera, you’d need to sit still for 8 hours.
100 Mind-Blowing You’d Facts
The bumblebee bat is the world’s smallest mammal. Weighing in at 0.05 to 0.07 ounces, with a head-to-body length of 1.14 to 1.29 inches and a wingspan of 5.1 to 5.7 inches, the bumblebee bat—also known as Kitti’s hog-nosed bat—is the smallest mammal in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. To see this tiny bat for yourself, you’d have to visit one of a select few limestone caves on the Khwae Noi River in Kanchanaburi Province of southwest Thailand.
Johnny Appleseed’s fruits weren’t for eating. Yes, there was a real John Chapman who planted thousands of apple trees on U.S. soil. But the apples on those trees were much more bitter than the ones you’d find in the supermarket today. “Johnny Appleseed” didn’t expect his fruits to be eaten whole but rather made into hard apple cider.
Cows don’t have upper front teeth. They do have molars on top, in the back of their mouths, but where you’d expect upper incisors, cows, sheep, and goats have a thick layer of tissue called a dental pad. They use that with their bottom teeth to pull out grass.
The word “aquarium” means “watering place for cattle” in Latin. Of course, today’s aquariums aren’t for cows. The first aquarium that looks like what you’d imagine was created in 1921 and opened in 1924 in England.
The British royal family is named after Windsor. You’d think Windsor Castle was named after the House of Windsor, but it’s the other way around. The royal family changed its name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1917 so it would sound less German and chose Windsor because they had ties with the English town.
Typing keyboards used to be arranged alphabetically. Have you ever wondered why keyboards aren’t arranged by the ABCs compared to the QWERTY keys we know now? You’d be surprised to know the uniform QWERTY keys we use were chosen at random. Before PCs and laptops, the typewriter was man’s first typing experience. The earliest typewriters had alphabetic keys, but people typed so fast that the mechanical arms got jammed and tangled up. To solve this, the keys were randomly positioned to slow down typing and prevent key jamming.
Tomato ketchup was used as medicine for 16 years. Whether you love it or hate it, this condiment once had a place in the world beyond hotdogs. However, you’d be surprised to know that ketchup only had tomatoes in it starting in 1834. Before, ketchup was made with a mix of fish and mushrooms. When Dr John Cooke Bennet added tomatoes to the mix, he claimed that the antioxidants gave it a medicinal property. He had a pill salesman turn his tomato ketchup into pills and claimed it could treat diarrhoea, indigestion, jaundice, and rheumatism.
Squeaky floors were the best home security in 17th-century Japan. You’d expect Japanese feudal lords to live in pristine houses with the sturdiest materials – and that is mostly true, save for their squeaky, creaky floors. Nightingale floors were flooring systems that “chirped” when somebody walked on it. They were installed in temples and palaces to alert of intruders. The floors were built in a way that the flooring nails rub against jackets or clamps, causing squeaking noises.
Tic Tacs got their name from the sound they make. Ever shaken a Tic Tac container out of boredom? You’d be surprised to know that the name Tic Tac comes from the tic-ing and tac-ing sound the candies make when tossed around in their container.
Walt Disney hated Goofy. Ah-Hyuck! As one of the first Disney staples, you’d be surprised to know that Disney hated the character of Goofy. He thought the cartoon was stupid, and the only reason he kept the character was to save other workers’ livelihoods.
The place where cartoon characters store things, just to pull out of thin air, is known as “Hammerspace”. If you’ve ever seen Tom & Jerry, you’d be familiar with those scenes where Jerry would pull a bat out of nowhere to bonk Tom mid-chase. However, animators have given this unseen, mysterious sphere where characters pull objects out of a name: the Hammerspace.
All the Professors in Pokemon have been named after trees. If you’ve played or watched Pokemon, you’d notice that through all generations, the Professors are named after trees: Professor Oak of Gen I, Professor Elm of Gen II, Professor Birch of Gen III, all up to Professor Sycamore of Gen IX.
Only ¼ of the Sahara Desert is sandy. When you think Sahara, you’d probably think of something out of The Lion King or National Geographic: stretches of dry, barren sands. However, this is not the case. One of the fun facts about the Sahara desert is that it’s hardly made up of sand! Most of it is covered in gravel with mountains and oases.
Humans have jumped further than horses in the Olympics. The Olympics has been a good measure of humanity’s physical limits and capabilities. You’d be surprised that the world record for the longest human long jump is even greater than the record for the longest long jump done by a horse. When Mike Powell jumped 8.95 meters, he beat the record of Extra Dry who jumped at 6.10 meters.
You can survive solely on potatoes and butter. In the right amounts, potatoes and butter could keep a person alive indefinitely. However, potatoes are all carbs and butter is high in cholesterol. You may survive, but you’d probably develop a condition over time.
Shoes can take up to 1,000 years to break down. If you thought clothes took crazy long to decompose, you’d have to look down at your shoes. Depending on different materials such as EVA and other foams, the average shoe will take 1,000 years before it is fully broken down.
Cleopatra was not Egyptian. Despite being portrayed as an Egyptian beauty, Cleopatra was Greek. You’d best brush up on your history.
The lungs are the only organs that can float on water. The shortest explanation is that air is less dense than water. With air in our lungs, we float. Each lung cavity has about 300 million balloon-like structures called alveoli. Proper breathing is crucial to swimming because you’d sink (not to mention, drown) without air in your lungs.
Cows hate country music. You’d think that cows would vibe with country music, but that’s not the case. According to research, cows produce 3% less milk when listening to country music. The study was conducted on a Scottish herd of 45 cows, which were made to listen to classical music and country music. With classical music, their milk production increased, with one particular cow making 1 litre more milk than usual. However, with country music, 44 cows were observed to yield 3% less milk.
Game of Thrones Night’s Watch cloaks are made from Ikea rugs. Creating something like Game of Thrones takes a lot of painstaking attention to detail to take people to the rugged, sooty world of Westeros. However, you’d be surprised that some of the production designs are just from everyday things. Namely, IKEA rugs for the Night Watch’s cloaks. IKEA has since released a tutorial for how to make GoT cloaks.
The CDC website has a zombie preparedness section. The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention contain and monitor epidemics. However, you’d be surprised that their websites have sections devoted to preparing for the Zombie apocalypse.
Roman Polanski had pee thrown at his face during Chinatown. If you’ve had any experience making a video group project, you’d know the high-tension environment of productions. Fights are pretty much inevitable. One of the most iconic cinema fights and funny facts: During the shoot for Chinatown, Faye Dunaway asked for her character’s motivation in one particular scene. Instead of offering advice, Roman Polanski yelled, “Say the fucking words. Your salary is your motivation.” This friction continued until the director wouldn’t let Dunaway take a toilet break. Fed up, Dunaway threw a coffee cup with her pee in his face.
You’d get rolled into a burrito if you’re a violent drunk in Japan. Japanese police may get a futon and roll you into a burrito if you disrupt the public.
Antarctica is the largest desert in the world. If you think desert, you’d probably think of the Sahara. By definition, a desert is any dry land with little vegetation and rain. However, the biggest desert is Antarctica. The Antarctic Polar Desert is a cold desert that covers the entire continent and covers roughly 5.5 million square miles.
Shaq only made one three-pointer in his whole career. Shaquille O’Neal may be one of the most iconic NBA players in the game, but you’d be surprised that he only made one three-point shot in his entire career.
A man reached level 90 in World of Warcraft without leaving the starting zone, ever. The player Double agent spent 173.5 days mining and picking herbs for XP. Technically, he was stuck in the Wandering Isles for life – he couldn’t even play PvP since you’d need to have a faction for that.
Bald eagles don’t sound like in the movies. If you’ve seen a Western film, the iconic bird screech comes to mind. However, you’d be surprised that it’s not the sound of a bald eagle. The piercing call that most people associate with the bird is a sound made by another bird of prey: the red-tailed hawk. Hollywood uses the red-tailed hawk’s cry because it has a more dramatic effect. Real bald eagles would chirp rather than screeching.
A head of human hair is strong enough to support 12 tons. If you’ve treated your hair with anything other than your natural hair colour, you’d know that it is stronger than you think. Science has proof to back it up. According to a study, a strand of hair can hold up to 30 ounces, and an entire head of hair can withstand up to 12 tons (or, the size of two elephants).
The loudest burp in the world is louder than a chainsaw. Have you ever woken up annoyed at the construction ongoing near your flat, or your neighbour blasting music? If yes, then you’d better stay away from Paul Hunn – or at least be out of earshot. Hunn made the world record for the world’s loudest burp which clocked in at 109.9 decibels. If you have no idea how loud that is, an average chainsaw is 106 decibels loud, while a jackhammer is 130 decibels. That’s probably the loudest of these WTF facts.
You can’t bring a Furby to the Pentagon. Since its release in 1998, Furbies have been a staple in the toy industry. You may find them adorable or creepy, but one thing for sure is that the American government doesn’t trust them. If you’ve ever encountered conspiracy theories about satanic Furbies, you’d be surprised that Furbies are banned from the Pentagon. One of Furby’s main features is speech imitation. Since most (if not all) of the communications in the Pentagon are confidential, they can’t risk a rogue Furby leaking everything to the public. As of 1999, the National Security Agency has banned Furbies from the Pentagon. See for yourself if a Furby would give away all of your secrets.
Maps sometimes have fake places to prevent plagiarism. Plagiarism can be hard to avoid for mapmakers. After all, what should they do? Invent new places? You’d be surprised to know some mapmakers do just that. Cartographers can add wrong streets, fake towns, or other landmarks to prove whether a competitor mapmaker is copying their work.
There are only 21 million Bitcoins that can be mined in total. You’d think as it’s a digital currency, the number of bitcoins available would be unlimited. However, if this was the case, that would devalue the currency and render it worthless.